Maybe This Time
by miss-skiffins
Summary: One-shot. Molly looks back on all of her disastrous crushes and finds some hope for the future.


**Maybe This Time**

**Summary: **Molly looks back on all of her disastrous crushes and finds some hope for the future.

**Disclaimer: **The wonderful worlds of _Sherlock _and _Sherlock Holmes_ are, sadly, not mine.

* * *

Her little stint with Jim hadn't worked out as she had wished. How the hell did Sherlock know what underwear would distinguish a man as gay?

Settle down, Molly. It's not like you ever had a chance with the worlds one and only consulting detective. Everyone knows that he might as well be spayed and neutered with how significant love – or any emotion for that matter – was in his life.

She had always had this problem. The boys she liked in secondary school were either gay, reclusive, or just a horrible case of unrequited love.

EXHIBIT A:  
Roy.

Roy liked his pants two sizes too small and his magazines stocked full of men that _must_ have been taking steroids.

Why did she like him?

He was her only friend.

Why did he like her?

She was constantly put in the ensemble of the musicals at school and provided no threat when it came to singing and dancing skills.

The crush started when they were doing _The Music Man_. He complained non-stop about how dorky and overly-patriotic (**for the wrong country**) the musical was.

What he didn't complain about was the fact that he got the coveted role of Harold Hill and that Marcellus Washburn was being played by the football team's favorite forward who was being forced to do the musical because he had led the football team in egging the school after their last loss.

Yes, I know, how could she not have seen how obviously he was inclined the OPPOSITE way.

He just seemed so kind and _his hair_….

He just had these luscious golden curly locks and the stage lights and make-up crew's efforts certainly didn't hurt.

Anyway, she began developing her crush one day while they were rehearsing "Marian the Librarian."

It went on like this until one day she walked into the boys' dressing room to borrow some bronzer after Marcellus Washburn had "come out" to Roy….

And that was the end of that little crush.

EXHIBIT B:

She couldn't even understand why she had liked Viktor. Maybe it was the Russian accent that she found appealing, but looking back she just saw a creepy teenager that only was a foreign exchange student in England because his mother had hoped that he would actually talk to people.

Unfortunately his caretakers were too keen on getting him to like them to care whether he was involved or not.

He _was_ involved in one club, though.

Forensic science club was the focus of Molly's life at this time. The kids in the club were antisocial enough that she was not insulted if they did not talk to her. Viktor joined this group of socially-awkward science geeks soon after coming to England. He was not unusually attractive, eloquent, or popular. He was not even a genius.

He was conceited, though, and very reckless.

The other club members would follow the rules to their best ability. Viktor did not seem to care.

He never bothered to read the safety or instruction manuals.

He refrained from wearing safety goggles or an apron.

But, most importantly, he multitasked.

He couldn't just do one experiment at a time. He would have at least four fires going on at a time. His phone would always be out with the latest episode of some dumb American crime show on. Music would always be playing at the same time as these various activities (obnoxious death metal up to the maximum volume). The only thing that he wouldn't be doing was talking.

Molly rarely heard a sound out of Viktor's mouth unless he was explaining what she had done to bother him. Somehow, she convinced herself that this meant that he liked her.

The week before he was to return to Russia, Molly arrived in the lab wearing her best outfit.

She then proceeded to ask him if he would like to come with her to a talk by Michael Baden at the nearby University.

But he didn't hear her over the sound of his music.

After attempting to get his attention a couple more times she gave up only to see him at the same lecture that night. He ignored her again, of course.

Viktor returned to Russia the next week and she never saw him again.

EXHIBIT C:

Arnold was a student in his twelfth year when she was in her thirteenth year.

She would talk to him after school was out while she and her sister were waiting for their father to pick them up. He was in her sister's class and very shy. The only reason that he would talk to her was because he was lab partners with her sister and had been over to their house for science projects that Molly had ended up doing most of the work for.

Now, Molly never offered to do favors for her sister (she was ungrateful and teased Molly unendingly about her small lips and general "lack of beauty"), but Arnold was just so nice that she had to help. In fact, Arnold was probably the only genuinely nice boy that she has liked.

Arnold wasn't self-centered like Roy.

He wasn't reclusive like Viktor.

He allowed himself to have emotions, unlike Sherlock.

Arnold was one of the cases of unrequited love, though. He wasn't mean about it. No. He just didn't understand.

Molly decided that she would ask him to go have a snack with her the day before they got out for Christmas. He agreed, but on the way out he asked her a question that ruined most of her Christmas break.

"Isn't your sister coming?"

Molly had given up on trying to start a relationship with anyone until she met Sherlock.

Sherlock was not entirely sociable, but the thing that made him stand out was despite his lack of emotions he at least tried to be kind to her. He didn't lie to her and say she was beautiful. Nevertheless, he talked to her like she mattered.

He stood with her in the lunch line.

He came to her rather than any other person for help.

He noticed even the smallest changes in her appearance.

Okay, so maybe the last one was just a part of his massive intellect, but still. He let her at least hope that one day she could have her own happy ending.


End file.
